'Little Experiment, CH1

Little Chiyo waited at the bus stop alone. The bus she was waiting for would be here any minute, she though. It was alittle strange. Fishing out of her pocket the letter she got just days ago, she looked at it. A team of scientists wanted her to participate in a 'harmless experiment', as was written. It just didn't sit well with Chiyo. Still, she figured she'd go see them anyway. She was leaving for studies in America soon, after all.

"Hey!" "Chiyo-chan!" "Hiya!" Chiyo turned to see Tomo, Kagura, and Osaka striding over to her.

"Well, what are you three doing here?"she asked. At this, Tomo shrugged.

"We're guinea pigs, Chiyo-chan!" The other three girls stared at the spaz. Shaking her head, Chiyo turned to the others.

"So what are you all doing here?"she asked again.

"We all got these letters from scientists askin' us to come see them."Osaka explained. Chiyo was taken back a bit. They received the same letter?

"I... I got one too..."she said showing the trio.

"That's pretty strange..."Kagura said slowly.

"You're a guinea pig, too!"Tomo cheered.

"We're all together again."Osaka said blankly, the others staring at her.

"It's just the four of us."Kagura said with a shrug.

"Whaddya mean-"Tomo began, but Osaka waved to an approaching crowd. Yomi, Sakaki(carrying a pet case her pet Iriomote Wildcat, Maya, rode in), Kaorin, they really were all together once more.

"Hey, are you all guinea pigs, too?"Tomo called cheerfully. At this, the other three froze, pulling identical letters out of their pockets. What was next?

"Hey you, you pack of runts! What the Hell are you doing here?" The girls knew that grouchy bark well. They turned to see Yukari Tanizaki and Minamo Kurosawa crossing the street.

"We all got these letters asking for us to meet with a bunch of scientists."Yomi said, the others all nodding. Yukari and Nyamo looked a tad confused by this but(Yukari, atleast)shrugged.

"Nothing unusual."Yukari said loudly. "It's like we're bound inseparable by means of the universe. We're meant to be intertwined with one another throughout the ages."Yukari finished with a dramatic, pointing pose. While Tomo, Kagura and Osaka wowed at this statement, the other waved her off as usual. She obviously saw this, because a moment later, she turned to them growling. "Hey! I may not be your teacher anymore, but I'm still older than you, so respect me!" Ignoring her, Nyamo turned to the girls.

"So,"she began with a slight pause "how have things been going for you all since school ended?"

"Okay." "Alright, I guess." "I'm heading to America next week." "I'm heading to Hokkaido soon, too." "HOKKAIDO!?"thundered Yukari. Glaring at Sakaki(who remained indifferent), she stomped away from the groveling trio. "Why do you leave for Hokkaido!?"

"A veterinary school in Sapporo accepted me."she said in her usually calm voice. The other's however, were taken back by this.

"Sapporo's a big city."Chiyo awed. "Well, it is it's capital."Yomi explained. "Banzai, Sakaki!"cheered Kaorin.

"CRABS!" The four stared at the teacher. "SALMON!" It was plain to see she was thinking with her stomach(which happened often). "SEA URCHIN!"

"Don't forget bear curry."Yomi said with a slight smile(Sakaki giving shudder). Before Yukari could explode any further, the bus arrived. The girls all piled on and continued to banter back and forth on the trip. Tomo seemed to have a job as a shop attendant(the police academy turned her down due to weight issues), while Osaka was still working at their local fast food restaurant. Time seemed to pass quickly for the girls(and two teachers)as they traveled on through the city. They were just like they were in high school. It wasn't long before they reached the facility written on the letter. They were greeted by a young woman, dressed in trendy fashion with her hair tied in two buns.

"Well, hello girls."She said with a nod. "It's great to meet you all."she said, her eyes skimming through the 9 as they came to a halt close to her. "Well then, my name is Kumiko Otahara, I'm the head scientist of our division." With that, she held her hand out, Chiyo stepping forth to shake with her a moment later.

"Hi. My name is Chiyo Mihama. It's nice to meet you." "Are we gonna get lunch?" "Tomo, shaddup!"Yomi moaned.

"Yes, you all must be hungry."Dr. Otahara said with a smile. "Let's have some lunch, shall we?" Leading them off, they walked through the plain halls, many signs as to what was where at every door.

"Jumbled place ya got here."Kagura said as she spotted more and more directional signs.

"This facility is one where many organizations and research teams that cannot find sponsorship or funding, like my own,"Kumiko explained "can conduct whatever research and work they may need to, if for a time." While most of them brushed this off, Chiyo, Yomi and(surprisingly)Osaka began to feel themselves growing more and more unnerved by this. "There's a lot of different divisions here, some of them end up packing up, some of them stay and some of the go on to bigger things. Here we are." The professor stood aside and ushered the crowd into a cafeteria, a handful of others enjoying a meal. Soon after finding a large enough table, they took their seats and began to chatter as the professor walked off to bring them some lunch.

"Anyone find things alittle odd?"Yomi asked nervously. While Chiyo nodded in agreement, everyone else(except for Osaka, who merely stared blankly into the distance)simply shook their heads. Pondering to herself, Chiyo began to wonder if things were what they seemed. Before she and Yomi could expand on this, Kumiko returned with their food, and they set to eating.

"So..." Chiyo asked before beginning her plate. "What kind of experiment do you have in mind for us?"

"Oh, nothing much."she said, helping herself to a foreign dish. "A kind of psychological study, nothing big." Chiyo looked to Yomi and(once again, surprisingly)Osaka and saw they wore expressions mirroring hers. They felt uneasy, but they figured they'd see things through alittle further.

"What kind of stuff do folks work on here?"Osaka asked.

"All kinds."Kumiko said with a shrug. "The founder here bought a capsule manufacturing corporation from a team that was here once, the whole top floor where they handle things with that division, an' divisions like NERV and 'The Organization', as they're called, have been working in the basements for a long time." She twirled a bite of her pasta and took another bite. "I don't know what they do, though. Their both kinda shady." The girls ate on in silence, the three still uneasy.

=====

"Okay, then, girls. We just need to ask you a handful of questions before we get do to the experiment."

"What kinda questions?"asked Tomo.

"Some of these girls weren't exactly the sharpest in school."Yukari said smugly, Tomo and Kagura glaring(Osaka still staring off blankly).

"Not to worry. It's just some average questions." Kumiko motioned for them to a hallway rowed with offices. While the girls went to be interviewed, Kumiko met with the rest of her team in the observation room. "Tell me."she asked, putting her lab coat on as she entered. "How are things coming along?"

"The girls are all being interviewed as we speak-"

"I'd think that obvious, I sent them to be interviewed."Kumiko said a tad irritably to the young man. "Is the machine fully functional?"

"Yes."said a middle aged scientist at a console. She quickly turned to make a few more adjustments. "It will be fully powered by the time they're finished their initial assessments."

"Excellent."Kumiko grinned. "And you're certain we'll be able to revert them with no lasting effects?"

"If all calculations are correct, yes."nodded the young scientist. Kumiko turned to look out of the two-way mirror.

"If things roll over well,"she said quietly "we'll be one step closer to changing the world with this one."

"And we can finally get the funding and necessities we need,"and elderly scientist chirped "to perfect this thing." Kumiko nodded to him and folded her arms triumphantly.

"Alright, team."she smiled. "The girls are done with their initial assessments, let's get to business." The girls each walked in and wear given what resembled hospital gowns to wear. "I should warn you,"Kumiko said "you may feel alittle woozy during the procedure, but there will be nothing to worry about." As the girls dressed, Sakaki turned to the head professor.

"My cat..."she began, motioning to her pet case Maya slept comfortably in. "Could you keep an eye on him, please?"

"Absolutely."Kumiko said with a wink. "He'll be fine with us." Feeling at ease, Sakaki joined the others as they walked into the room. It was wide, round, and had a large mechanism with three balls in a triangular formation fixed to long posts stretching from the center of the ceiling(vaguely resembling a massive fan).

"Everybody ready?"Kumiko called over the intercom as the door to the chamber began to seal. The girls turned to the two-way mirror and nodded(the nervous three alittle slower than the others), and with that, the crew activated the machine. Instantly, the mechanism began to spin, and the girls did indeed begin to grow woozy. Just then, Kaorin fainted, though only Chiyo noticed(everybody else watching the spinning device). Then Kagura fainted, then Yukari, then Yomi, soon, only Chiyo was left. Was it just her, or did it seem her gown was a mite larger? Before she could worry herself anymore, she, too, collapsed.

=====

"That was odd." "I don't remember much." "I remember I saw that fan thing spinnin'."

The girls walked out of the facility to the bus once more. Nobody really seemed to remember much of anything after they walked into the testing room... not even Chiyo.

"Well, I'm glad you all were able to participate."Kumiko said as she waved to the girls.

"Are we getting paid for this?"asked Tomo, much to several of the other's disdain. Kumiko, however, giggled at this.

"Well, let me just say if we get the rise we think we'll get from this 'little' experiment,"chortled Kumiko "you all will definitely get more than an honorable mention. I think you'll hear from us soon!" She turned after waving to the last of them, and walked back inside the massive building. Up the stairs, down the hall, past the offices and back into the observation room.

"So, tell me."she said once more. "Have the primary assessments been completed?"

"Yes, Dr. Otahara."nodded the young man once more. "Each of their regressions have been studied and observed very closely."

"Excellent."she said with a snap of her fingers. "Replay the tape, would you."she said, helping herself to a drink. "I'm still giddy over the process." Rolling his eyes, the elderly scientist put the observation recording on the main monitor.

=====

Chiyo fell to the floor unconscious and a moment later, the machines true effects began. The subjects began to shrink, starting with the teachers, then the older students, and finally little Chiyo. The girls each stopped regressing when they appeared about one year old. Seeing their regression halt, Kumiko nodded to her assistant to power down the machine. Each of the little ones sleep soundly as each of the assistants pulled them out of their now oversized gowns.

"Excellent."Kumiko smiled. Striding into the chamber, she looked at the snoozing tots, swelling with a massive sense of accomplishment. "Now then, it's time we study their adjustments. Everybody,"she said, taking Sakaki "get them all dressed up and to the nursery we've set up for the little ones." At this, she tickled little Sakaki's tiny feet, getting a cute giggle from her, then turned to lead her team out of the testing chamber.