Chapter 7: When She Began the Project
ONE WEEK LATER
Mihari smiled as she heard a knocking sound coming from the front door of her house. She smiled even more brightly when she saw who was on the other side this time.
"Good morning, Mihari-chan." Chitose said.
"Good morning, Senpai." Mihari replied. "Please, come in."
Chitose walked inside and Mihari closed the door behind her. Mihari noticed that Chitose was holding a small metal locked-briefcase in one hand and smiled.
"I take it that you brought the stuff." Mihari asked.
"Yep, it's right in here." Chitose said while holding up the case. All that's left for me to do is measure out the right amount based on your intended specifications. I assume that you've finally made up your mind on that decision based on what we talked about?
"I have." Mihari answered. "Thanks for pointing that out to me by the way. It showed me that I needed to be better prepared for every possible scenario that lies ahead. I've taken full advantage of you giving me this last week off so I could restructure my plans accordingly."
"It's my pleasure." Chitose said. "Every great project like this needs to have as much prep time as possible, otherwise all of that hard work might mean absolutely nothing should any problems suddenly arise. I'm glad that you're starting to understand that. And I don't mind covering for you in the lab in the meantime. I just put you down in the record as having been absent due to the need to 'care for an incapacitated family member'. It may be a lie, but what you'll be doing during that time kind of fills the same gap."
"Yeah, I guess it does." Mihari said.
"It's a good thing that summer break just started, otherwise there's no way that you'd be able to get away with missing your schoolwork." Chitose added.
"That's for sure." Mihari said.
For some reason, Chitose and Mihari burst out laughing at this for a few seconds.
"So, where should I get everything set up?" Chitose asked.
"We can use the table in the kitchen." Mihari said. "This way please."
Chitose smiled and followed Mihari as she was led through the living room into the kitchen. All the while, Chitose looked around with awe at the decor that filled Mihari's house.
"Wow this is all so cool, Mihari-chan." Chitose said. "I think that this is the first time that I've ever actually set foot in your house."
"That's because it is." Mihari said nonchalantly.
Chitose set down her briefcase on the kitchen table and began to fiddle with the lock on it.
"You know, I was very surprised that you asked me to come over and do this for you here instead of at the lab." Chitose said. "Not that I'm complaining or anything. I mean, I love having the opportunity to visit the personal spaces of those who work under me, but it still came off as a little weird."
Chitose began to open the briefcase, only for Mihari to push it closed with her hand.
"Well I had a reason for doing so." she said.
"Huh? What reason?" Chitose asked.
"We can wait for a little while longer." Mihari answered. "Take a seat Senpai, I need to talk to you about something."
"Okay." Chitose said with a bit of unease in her voice.
Chitose sat down at the kitchen table and Mihari took the seat opposite her.
"So…what's up?" Chitose asked.
Mihari took a deep breath before answering.
"Senpai, while I was gathering data to answer the question you proposed to me, I found out some rather interesting things." Mihari answered.
"What kinds of things?" Chitose asked.
"Most of it was very useful data." Mihari answered. "It allowed me to realize several possible pitfalls associated with various age groups that I was considering and plan ahead in case they ended up happening."
"Well, that's great news then." Chitose beamed. "The randomness factor of any potential outcomes has for the most part been mitigated through strategic planning ahead. I couldn't be prouder of you, Mihari-chan."
Mihari didn't say anything and her expression didn't change. This caused Chitose to realize that there was more to be said.
"Though I guess that this isn't the thing that you wanted to talk to me about." she added.
"Indeed." Mihari nodded. "You see, while Kaede and I were out and about, we ran into someone who told me something fascinating, and not in a good way. This person happened to have a certain history with you, and as such figured out who I was the second I mentioned where I recognized her name from."
Chitose's face immediately turned white.
"No way, that's impossible." she thought. "There's no way that it could've been her. Could it?"
"Senpai, let me ask you…how could you ask someone like Dr. Yume Kusanagi for help on completing the de-aging formula?"
Chitose nearly fainted upon hearing these words.
"I can't believe it. Mihari-chan actually met her. This is the worst case scenario that I ever could've imagined happening." she thought.
"I'm guessing based on your expression that you've figured out what I'm talking about." Mihari continued. "Before you ask any specific questions, I'll let you know that she told me everything. She mentioned how you were struggling with the formula and thus turned to her asking for help. She told me how she refused to do anything until you specifically mentioned the intended purpose of the formula. She also told me the entire truth about where the source you got from her originated from."
Chitose's head sank upon hearing this.
"So, I take it that she told you the truth about the outbreak in Himawaridai Town?" she asked.
"All of it." Mihari answered. "How could you do that, Senpai? What possible justification could you have for seeking out a severely unstable pathogen that would have resulted in mankind's extinction had it not been contained all those years ago. And to admit the truth about what I'm doing to a severe pervert like that? You do some pretty crazy things sometimes, but I never thought that you would ever be this reckless."
Chitose didn't say anything for a few seconds.
"I'm sorry, Mihari-chan." she said. "I never intended to deceive you in any way. I only wanted to ensure that your project moved forward."
"By seeking out a dangerous substance and breaking the unspoken confidentiality agreement that all scientific labs possess?" Mihari asked. "What if this thing escaped our lab just like it did all of those years ago by those that actually created it? It would tear the world apart. Even worse, it would be the end of our careers if they ever found some way to trace it back to us. We'd be imprisoned for life or even executed. Tell me, was the risk really worth it?"
"How is it any different than what you've been willing to do for your brother?" Chitose asked.
Mihari gasped slightly, as the question had caught her off guard.
"As a scientist, are you not willing to risk it all for the sake of others?" Chitose asked. "True scientific achievement does not come out of a desire to discover things for yourself, but rather out of a desire to benefit other people. Look at yourself, Mihari-chan. You gave up your entire high school life in order to put your project into action, all out of a pure desire to help your brother. What I did is no different. I believe in your project, which is why I desired to help you get there. Without my help, you never would've been able to perfect the feminization drug. I found myself in a similar position when I was developing the de-aging formula. No matter how hard I tried though, I was unable to get it to work properly. Because of that, I realized that I had no choice but to take even greater risks. Sure, the loli virus is an unstable and immense threat to the world. The fact is though that it does indeed work as a means to revert someone back to a younger state. While it may have been risky to use as an ingredient, my resolve carried me through and I found a way to successfully develop a stable serum out of it. That is still the one thing that you still haven't gotten a full grasp on, Mihari-chan. To be a true scientist, you must have unshakable resolve."
Mihari's mouth dropped open at this.
"It's easy to go without resolve whenever everything in your life naturally works out perfectly for you." Chitose continued. "Until you came to me, you had never failed at anything in your life. Thus, when you ran into several dead ends you were almost ready to give up due to not knowing how to deal with defeat and failure. A true scientist does not know the meaning of the word defeat, however. If they fail, they don't lie there and cry. Instead they see it as an opportunity to learn from their mistakes, brush themselves off, and try something else. And if they can't do it by themselves, they seek out others with more experience to help them out. You of all people should be able to understand that."
Mihari looked straight down.
"You know what? I actually do." she said. "I took on the heavy burden of helping my brother all on my own shoulders. Though, I never would've been able to get to this point without everyone else who was there to help me."
Chitose put her hand on Mihari's shoulder.
"Look, it's not like I support the kind of person that Yume-sensei is. I don't." Chitose said. "She and I parted ways a long time ago for good reason: because we had differing opinions on our motivations for scientific achievement. She's all about using her creations for self-gratification, while I believe in using mine as a means to help others. She simply had something that was useful to us, and the only way for her to let me have it was to tell her the whole truth. Don't worry though, I wasn't reckless or anything. She only knew your first name, not your last name. I gave out no other personal information on you or your brother. I used a burner phone to contact her, and met her up in person at an undisclosed location to pick up the sample. She has no idea where our lab is, and her brother-in-law was there to personally make sure that she didn't plant a bug to track me after we parted ways."
"Good thinking, Iori-kun." Mihari thought.
"And don't you worry about the formula derived from that virus." Chitose said. "I took every single precaution, and quadruple-checked the end result at every stage of development to ensure that it was stabilized as much as possible. While I wasn't able to make it one-hundred percent stable, the odds of anything going ary are less than ten percent, and I really like those odds. Even if anything does go wrong, no outbreak will occur. The worst case scenario is that he'll undershoot or overshoot the intended age by a few years at the most. Luckily you told me that you've prepared ahead for this, so there shouldn't be any problems. If we're very careful, and measure out the correct dosage, there's almost no chance of anything going wrong."
Mihari waited for a few seconds before looking back up.
"Okay Senpai." she said. "You've always been by my side helping me out when I needed it the most. You're absolutely right to say that I never would've been able to perfect the drug if it wasn't for you. You're also right when you say that true scientists need true resolve in order to reach their goals and power through, despite possible failure. I'm going to definitely work on that from now on. As soon as Onii-chan is transformed, he'll be looking for someone who can guide him through this strange and bizarre time. I can't very well act as this guide if I'm not sturdy and reliable. Regardless of what happens, I vow to stick by his side and always be there for him."
"Now that's what I like to hear, Mihari-chan." Chitose said.
Chitose reached into the pocket of her lab coat and pulled something out which she gave to Mihari.
"Here, I've been waiting to give this to you for some time now, and you've certainly earned it."
Mihari stared down at the object and saw that it was a small pin, like the kind that you'd get at a voting poll. It was circular, pale yellow colored, and had an image of Chitose smiling across it. Across the image were the words 'I AM A REAL SCIENTIST' written in bright red lettering. Mihari simply sighed and put it into her pocket.
"Senpai, just when I think that you've finally started taking things seriously, you go ahead and do something like this." she said.
"Hey, I gotta have my fun, don't I?" Chitose asked.
The two laughed at this for a few seconds.
"Well, I think we've wasted enough time. Let's get to the measuring, shall we?" Chitose asked.
Chitose opened up the briefcase to reveal a large range of scientific equipment. She took out a large measuring beaker before reaching to another section behind the equipment and taking out a small vial which presumably held the formula. Mihari was very impressed by what she saw.
"Wow, that's quite the briefcase." she said.
"Isn't it?" Chitose asked. "It can hold all my tools, and up to twenty vials of chemicals. Plus, the bottom can be plugged into an electrical socket to be used as a method for heating things up. It's very useful for taking your research on the road, especially if something needs to be synthesized in a hurry. Remind me to order one for you sometime, Mihari-chan. I'm sure that you'll find it handy."
"I'll keep that in mind." Mihari said.
Chitose finished setting up her supplies and stretched her arms above her head for a few seconds.
"Well okay, I'm all set on my end." she said. "Now only one thing remains from you."
Chitose turned to look at Mihari.
"So then, Mihari-chan. What age have you decided to make your brother?" Chitose asked.
"I will admit that it was a difficult call." Mihari said. "I was on the fence about whether to go with elementary school aged or middle school aged. In the end though, I think that being middle school aged is the best choice for Onii-chan. More specifically, the age of a first-year middle schooler if possible; around 13 years old plus or minus one year."
"And what specifically led you to decide this?" Chitose asked.
Mihari sighed a bit.
"Senpai, we've already wasted enough time as it is without me having to waste more explaining all of it to you." she said. "Don't worry, I wrote up a report with all of that information. I'll be sure to give you a copy before you leave."
"Okay, if you say so." Chitose said. "If that's the age we're shooting for, I think that 16 ml will do the trick. We have to be very careful not to overshoot it though."
Chitose used a small marker to draw a black line on the beaker, directly at the 16ml mark. She then popped open the cork on the vial and slowly lifted it up to the top of the beaker.
"Here we go." she said.
Chitose slowly titled the vial until the formula began to pour out into the beaker. Chitose slowly titled it back as the formula's volume in the beaker got closer and closer to the desired amount. The instant that Chitose saw the volume reach the correct amount, she pulled the vial back and re-corked it. She and Mihari let out sighs of relief.
"Well, that's that then." Chitose said. "Get out your sample of the drug and we'll add it in right away."
Mihari reached back into one of the cupboards and pulled out a bottle which contained the drug she had finished creating in the lab the previous week. She had taken it home with her as she was afraid someone might steal it if it was kept at the lab. She unscrewed the top of the bottle, revealing it to be half-full of fluid, and placed it next to Chitose.
"And with this final action, everything you've worked for will finally have meaning." she said.
Chitose slowly poured the formula into the bottle, being careful not to spill a single drop. By the time she was finished, the bottle was nearly filled to the top. Mihari and Chitose stared at it with a look of awe.
"There we go, all done." Chitose giggled.
Mihari quickly screwed the cap back on the bottle and held it up to the light.
"I can't believe it. It's finally completed." she said. "After all this time, the project can finally begin. Onii-chan and I will finally be together again at long last."
"I'm so happy for you, Mihari-chan." Chitose said. "Just be sure to let me read any and all progress reports you end up writing."
"No problem." Mihari said. "Now why don't I go and get you the report I've already written so you can be on your way."
"Sounds good to me." Chitose said.
Before long, the completed drug had been put away and Chitose found herself standing at the front door with Mihari showing her out. Mihari handed Chitose a green folder which Chitose took without any hesitation.
"Consider it my preliminary report." Mihari explained. "Everything I've done so far is in there. I mention my reasons for doing each part of the project, and give detailed accounts of the events which allowed me to decide on this particular age group."
"I'm sure that it will make for a good read." Chitose said. "Thanks for having me over, Mihari-chan. Be sure to text me tomorrow and tell me how everything goes."
"Sure thing, see you later." Mihari said.
The two quickly waved each other off and Mihari shut the door. She quickly turned around and felt extremely giddy.
"Ooh, this is so exciting." she said. "In just a few short hours, I'll be able to put my plan into action at long last. I almost don't want to wait."
Mihari quickly steadied herself with some deep breathing.
"Okay, calm down." she said. "You already promised that you wouldn't rush into things so recklessly anymore. You need to take this seriously, otherwise nothing will go as planned. I've waited patiently this long, another few hours won't make that much of a difference. Guess that I'll just do a bit of light reading until then."
Mihari quickly walked up the stairs to her room, just before she went inside, she glanced over towards the closed door leading to Mahiro's bedroom and smiled.
"Just hang in there a little bit longer, Onii-chan." she thought. "Soon, everything will be better. I promise."
Mihari then proceeded to walk into her room and closed the door behind her. All the while, she thought about how the next few hours could not come any sooner.
The four hours that Mihari spent reading felt more like four days. She had a large variety of books available, but was unable to focus on any one of them for longer than a few minutes. The wait was killing her. After quite a great deal of time had passed, Mihari saw that the sky was completely dark out and knew that it was finally time to put her plan into action.
"Oh yeah, here we go." she thought giddily.
Mihari quickly jumped out of bed and ran downstairs. She took out the bottle containing the drug and laid it on the table. She could hardly contain her excitement. She then reached into the fridge and pulled out a small bottle of cola. Unscrewing the cap, she poured a small amount of the soda inside into the sink before setting it back on the table. She soon unscrewed the cap on the bottle containing the drug and lifted it to the cola bottle. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, but couldn't remove the bright smile on her face.
"I can't believe I'm finally doing this." she said.
Mihari carefully poured the drug into the larger bottle of cola. The resulting liquid filled the bottle back up until it looked as if nothing had been poured out of it whatsoever.
"A perfect job if I do say so myself." she said.
Mihari screwed the cap back on the bottle and placed it on a large serving tray. She then reached back into the cupboard, pulled out a small serving-size bag of lightly salted potato chips, and placed them on the tray as well.
"There's no way that Onii-chan will be able to resist this." she said. "Sure, there's always the chance that he might get suspicious that the cap on the soda isn't sealed, but I'm not too worried. Given how much he loves to eat, I doubt he'll really look a gift horse in the mouth. Besides, he's never been smart enough to check ahead for traps that don't exist in one of his little games."
Mihari carefully picked up the tray and made her way slowly up the stairs. Soon enough, she was standing outside Mahiro's room. After a few deep breaths, she knocked on the door.
"Onii-chan, I brought you a late-night snack." she said.
No answer came from inside, just as Mihari expected.
"It's nice to have a treat every so often too, isn't it?" she asked.
Once again, Mahiro gave no answer. Mihari started to feel depressed before kicking herself slightly.
"Just keep it together. Remember, tonight is that last night that this will ever happen again." she thought.
"I'll just leave it in front of your door. Good night, Onii-chan." she said.
Mihari slowly set the tray down in front of the door and walked back over to her door. She opened the door, and then abruptly closed it without entering the room. She then proceeded to tiptoe over to the top of the stairs and hid by the corner of the hallway. Sitting on the ground, she peered around the corner to get a glimpse of the area outside Mahiro's door where she had set down the tray.
"Knowing Onii-chan, he'll never open the door if he thinks I'm waiting outside for him." she thought. "Best to cover all the bases so I can see the grand moment of truth."
After a few minutes, Mihari heard the door opening. From her hiding place, she saw Mahiro look down and take the bag of chips and cola bottle before retreating back into his room and closing the door. Although this had only lasted for a few seconds, it was long enough for Mihari to get a brief glimpse of Mahiro's face. She hadn't seen much, but she could tell that there was a look of profound sadness across it. Not as if he had been crying, just more as if he had ultimately given up on life. His face had a blank expression on it, almost like the kind that you'd see on medical patients in vegetative states. After all, that was the life that Mahiro had been living for the past two years; one of a vegetable. He never exercised, took care of himself, or even bothered to talk to anyone. He was simply content to lay there and rot until the inevitable day that he died. Mihari felt very sad every time that she saw him like this, although this time she felt happy as she knew it would be the last time.
"Guess I won't be seeing that face for quite awhile." she thought. "Oh well, not having to witness that specific expression anymore will almost certainly make up for it."
Mihari stood up and walked back to her room. She slowly opened the door, being careful not to make any noise, and slipped inside before closing her door in the same way. She almost skipped over to her bed before laying on top of it.
"Just a little bit longer." she said. "I almost don't know if I'll be able to sleep tonight."
Despite Mihari's excitement, she would ultimately stay up for only a few hours longer before eventually falling asleep. She would later recall it as having been one of deepest and most peaceful sleeps that she had, or ever would, know.
End of Chapter 7
9/17/2024
Special thanks to my Patrons: Homura VanRoyen, sudowiki
Hi Everyone. Here I am at the seventh chapter of this story. This might just be the shortest chapter of the story, but I really liked how tight the focus was. This is in all senses a direct prequel to the first chapter of Onimai, and I tried to imagine it as such. As a result, there is a good chance that such a chapter would've been included even if the story hadn't been a crossover. If it had though, it would've been much shorter since this chapter is focused primarily on the crossover elements, and the impact they had.
As a result, this chapter has Chitose relay the final necessary pieces of advice that Mihari needs to begin both the project, and her career as a scientist. I am very happy that I was able to showcase Mihari's development during the week before the project began. I even tried to think of a reason why she was able to monitor Mahiro so often during this early stage, and then realized that the time that the project kicked off coincided with summer break. It is amazing how everything fits together in the end, and that I was able to expand upon so many things that have been teased in the main series but never fully touched by Nekotofu. For some of you out there, you may have noticed that the last few pages of this chapter overlap with with and expand upon the Blu-ray Volume 1 prequel manga. This was a point that I always intended to reach, but those areas I touched are not the only parts I drew inspiration from.
You see, I originally envisioned this as the last chapter of the story before it became a crossover. Once I came up with the concept of the de-aging drug being unstable, it sent me down a rabbit hole that transformed this story into something much grander that I ever could've imagined. The rest of that bonus manga ties into some of those themes which I still intend to explore. As I said before, there is a single chapter remaining which will act as an epilogue of sorts to tie up any loose ends and provide the satisfying conclusion that this story deserves. There are several exciting twists that are lying in wait, and luckily you won't have to wait long to see them. Only three days to go before the final chapter comes out and the story concludes at long last, so stay tuned.
Please be sure to like and comment on this chapter as any feedback you give me is extremely helpful to me as an aspiring writer.
If you enjoy what you've seen so far and you're interested in seeing more, consider supporting me on my (instructions on how to reach it can be found on my profile). Your support will give me the resources to write more often, and anyone who contributes will be have their name appear in a 'special thanks' section of all future stories that I write.
I'd like to thank you all for your encouraging likes, follows, and comments, and stay tuned for the Final Chapter, coming soon.
