One Week Earlier...

Appropriate. The Madaraki household's gates already looked gigantic.

Even tucked amid taller mountains veiled in vast forests and harsh rainfall, the Gothic-style mansion stuck out. In a sense, it stood out more here; for a sleepy, out-of-the-way part of the Japanese countryside, that kind of structure seemed extravagant.

Then again, from what they'd heard of Dr. Naomitsu Madaraki, he was an extravagant person.

The population at the town outskirts were wary. Aging, hunched over, tucking into small spaces. Pretending not to understand when Anderson asked for directions in English. Pretending to have hearing problems when Liu asked again in their mother tongue. Silently praying not to get involved. Between them, it had taken longer to arrive at the manor then anticipated. Dusk set in, people slowly closing away for meals that the travelers couldn't afford to stop for.

Closer in, around the "radius" of the household, the town seemed to gradually grow livelier. Younger. Friendlier. Taller. Shorter. Wider. Bonier. Toothier. Spikier. Fashion choices that made the wildest tattoos and piercings look quaint. The exact same faces right next to each other. People in what looked like mascot or monster suits, without a fairground or convention in sight. They were all too happy to point to the visitors' destination, right over this road and that slope. One formally-dressed man with the face of a basset hound offered a ride in his Rolls-Royce, in case this was some urgent life-and-death matter. When Hadi and Bello hesitated, he just bowed, and murmured:

"I understand fully. Do not let me pry. Doctor-patient confidentiality is of upmost importance to us."

Though as the rain began, they started to reconsider how hasty they'd been to reject his services.

The twin, tall doors of the household swung open. With convenience-store umbrellas and newspapers over their heads, the eight of them rushed in. Women first, Hadi, Bello, and Liu; then Aliev; followed by the men, Laghari, Pedro, Anderson, and finally Tessay. As they dropped their suitcases to the doormat, and wiped their traveling boots, a small rabble of faces in surgical wrappings and masks gathered around.

Near the floor, a handsome boy's face with reddish-brown hair appeared, rubbing up against a corner. "Ngh... lost tourists coming in from the rain?" He wandered closer, stretching his cat legs and tail out, mewing slightly.

Clad in a black bucket hat, Veronica scanned them from the staircase above. "Don't be fooled, Okita. They're hiding something. Spies, saboteurs...? CIA, FSB, MSS? Black Lotus? Gavrill's gang?" Her legs leaned inwards and she readied a blade in her cloak. Her hand gripped tighter when Liu took her jacket off - and lifted her head up to the younger Madaraki's wide eyes.

"No, didn't I tell you? These are patients from overseaaaaas~"

A set of stitched hands clapped, slight wet noises coming from between them. They gave Veronica a firm shoulder-pat, pushing her along; and scooped Okita up away from the mud puddles, with an ergonomic posture that made the doctor coat and skirt dangle. With a hurried bow, she directed a set of muscular, hazmat-suited attendants to dry everyone off with towels and fans. She bowed and curtseyed to the eight of them, and they exchanged introductions.

"Dr. Madaraki?" Aliev briskly shook her hand. "We've heard so much about you."

The blonde woman pulled away slightly, her stitched mouth holding back chuckles of embarrassment. "Ah, no, the Professor is still away. Working on the betterment of mankind. I'm Fran, I've been keeping the lights on in his stead. You're...?"

As Fran looked back, she realized that her forearm had fallen out of its socket, in the visitor's palm - revealing a bloody stump. The others stood in shock for a second. Veronica twitched. Aliev started laughing, and handed it back. "Ahh, pranks to lighten the mood. What *fun* we'll have."

Pedro, much dryer now, looked at the hulking creatures around - circling the doctor and her protégé. "She's quiet, but that Fran has a way of giving orders..."

"That's good." "Yeah..." Bello and Hadi whispered among themselves.

As Veronica patted them down with her worn palms, checking for weapons, Liu commented: "Uhm, you all... You have excellent English, if I can say so... Our, erm... *community* is primarily Anglophone, but your intonation is... a-a lot better than mine."

The small shape in shadowy gear grunted. "Skip the flattery. I guarded the doctor around the world, so I picked up some words from other languages. He's also had my dear sister study piles of stuffy foreign medical texts, in the comfort of this big house..." She clicked her tongue. "And Okita watches too many American horror films."

Okita grinned smugly. "Guilty. Elvira has her ways."

Fran shook her head, quietly reconnecting her lost hand with stitches. "Ah, I'm not good with English at all. I still have trouble pronouncing such simple terms as, 'Ulcerative Colitis'~ It's embaaaaarrassiiiiing..."

She led the group down long hallways, with flickering, yellowy lights on mahogany. Strange, sloshing sounds erupted from behind doors - and they kept turning at shadows in the cracks, peeking in between doorframes or rotting documents and burnt medical charts.

Okita, with his tail waving high, trotted around them. "So, this *community*. What's it about?" He lapped at his paw.

They started exchanging glances among themselves. Hadi and Bello curled into each other, mumbling. Laghari coughed.

Anderson crossed his arms. "We're people of culture."

Liu looked away, hands in her back pockets. "I'm... something of an... illustrator."

"Archivist," Tessay tapped his chest in pride.

"Writer." Pedro lowered his eyes to Fran's slippers, and how she shifted weight on her soles along the halls.

"Web design." "Voice actress, freelance." Hadi and Bello concluded, hands held, mouths close.

"Photographic manipulation. Professional artist." Aliev marched firmly.

"A regular patron of all these people," Laghari finally managed.

Anderson continued as they entered a warm guest room with embroidered portraits. "None of us are prominent or wealthy. But that's because, like Dr. Madaraki, we're brave. Brave enough to stand up to short-sighted moralizers." His teeth clenched. "There's no shame in what we do. We channel our most natural instincts to create beauty."

Liu blushed, taking a seat. "Just like... just like Dr. Madaraki created beauty."

Veronica grimaced her way, the gears of her internal weapons clanging. "What did I tell you about flattery? It'd just take one slice now. I could crush you all like cockroaches..."

Most of the guests awkwardly smiled at that threat. She noticed some of their pulses racing, and hands sweating - almost like anticipation. Pedro stole peeks at her tall, white boots. Some sat cross-legged or with arms in their laps so as to cover their groins.

Okita's fur stood on end, as he slinked among the guest room decorations. "Still doesn't explain why you're here. Medical tourism... There are cheaper places for it, probably closer to your homes."

Fran flipped through notes. "Ah, yes, that's right. When you called about this arrival, you said you'd explain in private... But you brought up a past patient. Mr. Kim, right?"

Liu nodded back, gazing upon the medical tomes lying around. "I got in contact with him... thank goddess."

"A man who was a strapping 6 foot 5 inches..." Laghari almost looked lost in a dream. "...Who gave it up to make his girlfriend less intimidated."

Aliev clutched their knees. "4 foot 9. When he finished the operation."

Bello murmured: "And Dr. Madaraki worked on that whale woman, too."
Hadi nodded. "The Kannon, and Yasuko, at those gigantic sizes."

Sipping a cup of tea brought in from a squat servant, Fran sighed. "Ah, yes, I was involved with Mr. Kim's case. He had lot of questions for The Professor. Very bright man! The couple consummated their relationship afterwards." She tilted her hand such that the brown fluid wobbled in waves. "And those girls living with belugas, splashing in the seas... I still see them on the news sometimes, they look so happyyyy... Like a fairytale ending..." Her misty eyes visibly teared up, wetness building. "So... *sob*... a height operation... This is for which of you?"

Pedro looked around. "All of us. We've each saved up and pooled our money for this..." His fingers curled against his pants. "Procedure."

Anderson took a deep breath. "Just. We'd like smaller. Can you make me exactly 2.5 centimeters?"

Silence. A brief, cutting silence.

Bello lifted a hand. "I'd prefer being 3 inches tall."

Hadi followed: "Then I'll be a few millimeters."

Tessay laughed awkwardly. "Can you please do micrometers for me?"

The doctor took a long sip of her tea. "Hm." She let her head tilt, rubbing her chin.

During the discussion, Veronica didn't sit, just loomed. The shadow finally spoke. "When the subject of shrinking came up... Your temperatures all soared. You're nervous. What's going on? Is one of you forcing the others into this? Who's in charge here?"

Hadi started: "Well, Bello's the site's administrator, but..."

Bello continued: "We all decided on our own."

Laghari shifted in place. "This is actually my first time meeting most of them in-person... We just shared our common interest online."

Liu lay back. "I'll... gladly let any nice woman take charge. I'm a real pushover."

Bounding to the largest chair's armrest, Okita put a paw up, hiding his worried mouth, and whispered: "Fran... This lot gives me a bad vibe. Like the ski lodge case..."

"Ski loo~oodge..." Her eyes bluged for a second. She stroked the catboy's fur and hair, looking over the foreign guests seated around the old wooden tables. Slowly, she got up, with her feline housemate at her slippers. "Okaaay~ There's many of you, so this may be difficult. But if this operation is to continue, then I'll need you to be honest with me. Please trust me, this is crucial information about your health." She put a hand to her hip. "How, exactly, did you develop macrophilia?"

Veronica sputtered, back going up against a bookcase. "M-m-macro... philia? What?"

Okita's jaw dropped, his body practically hiding behind Fran's legs. "So you're accusing them of... a fetish for..."

Fran kept staring. "I will try not to judge. But I need your cooperation."

Anderson flung his arms up. "Look, if you'll deny us like the rest of the world, it's fine. We'll go. But... Speaking in evolutionary terms, it's only natural to want bigger mates with a better chance of survival. It's the normies - it's everyone else who's mentally wired wrong."

Pedro thought. "It probably leads back to events in my childhood... But I've heard many writers are into feet, so it could be genetic?"

Laghari grinned. "So that there's more girl to hug! Really, I don't know. But I like the role reversal of someone small and dainty messing with me."

Tessay smiled sadly. "All these choices I have to make, everything I do, I keep doubting and regretting and overthinking. I want a strong woman to utterly dominate me and make those choices for me."

Hadi hugged Bello. "It's because I want to be totally, fully, 100% held in another person's warmth."

Bello cuddled back. "I'm actually into being bigger - having some control over things, for once. But I've learned to love shrinking and still dominating someone..."

Aliev grunted, arms crossed. "Society is going to hell. I want someone cute to destroy it all."

Veronica had to stare to Liu before she answered, folding her chin down, carefully stepping on each word. "I've always felt... guilty... about sex. Like... I could be... hurting someone with my thoughts. I want to give my beloved, the person I dream about... full power. Over me. Over the world. So she'll never get hurt."

"Uhhm..." The dark-haired girl slowly covered her mouth with a bandaged hand. "Th-that's pretty... extreme..."

Okita had a Cheshire Cat smile. "So you're all internet perverts. Ain't the worst fetish, but... Look at you." His front paw fanned out. "You traveled to one of the most brilliant surgeons of this century, to whack off to her."

Pedro rolled his eyes. "Says the catboy in her arms... I bet you were reeeal into yiffing, huh?"

Veronica suddenly stomped the ground. "Hey, watch it! He's leaner and more agile like this... and that head is as human as any of you - you narcissistic, dirty freaks!"

Just as she was about to pounce, Fran signaled to Okita. The cat quickly pulled a spray bottle off the floor, and squirted Veronica's red face. She panicked, wiping it off her cheeks and wringing out her cloak.

Okita helped as best he could with his paws. "Thanks for the defense, anyway."

Tessay let out a sigh. "Well, she's right. In the end, we're all weirdos... Nobody would really miss us if we died in a sexy crushing accident."

Fran's eyebrows lowered briefly. "I would." She lifted them again, pacing in slow circles as her head bobbed. "But my little sister is right on the other point. Mr. Kim, and Okita himself, have had little to no cranial alterations. They're still using normal human heads. Reducing most body parts is possible, with the right stem cell cultures and nervous system reconnections. Bones, digestive systems, respiratory systems, circulatory systems, even tongues and jawlines, I've downsized them before. But packing a brain in a small space is another story." Her steps got frantic, ignoring the world around - while pondering. "Each area does so much independent work. Beyond left and right hemispheres. Beyond frontal, parietel, temporal, and occipital lobes. Beyond cortical areas. The human brain is a precious, precious piece of machinery that we know scarcely anything about. Body parts crushed underfoot or chewed off can eventually be replaced. It's harder to restore language, or memories, or facial recognition, or personality. Even insect and rodent brains are arranged far differently, especially their more sensitive olfactory bulbs." Her own head looked ready to fall off. "A run-of-the-mill researcher like myself can't reliably jam a human brain in a space less than 1000 square centimeters. Hmm..."

She smiled suddenly, widely, facial stitches ready to pop. "Unleeeeesss~"

Now absorbed with her monologue, everyone stood straight.

Laghari coughed again. "Money? If it's money you need, we can find more."

Trotting around them - seeing them all looking up to her - Fran shut her eyes. "Zero cost. You'll be doing a service to science. That's your payment."

Bello looked in confusion: "You're not charging us?"
Hadi shook her head. "We could've visited a year ago if we knew..."

Liu shifted in place. "And what... what's this service, Doctor Fran?"

The labcoated woman thought. "I would be interested in testing your strength under pressure - such as force under a foot or backside. See if you can retrieve information on the process of digestion from within. Perhaps, with the right discretion, exposing you to various smells or bodily fluids as a measure of sensitivity."

Pedro stared blankly for a second, trying not to drool. "And... and we don't have to pay for any of that?"

Veronica, approaching her sister, was shaking enough to ripple her coat's fur, and tilt her hat. "Sis, why?"

"How can I put this? Sex, lust, reproductive urges..." The woman leaned against surgical diagrams, tracing her finger around illustrated muscle. "Frankly, it's not something I can claim personal interest iii~iin. But as a natural part of human behaviour, their kinks' development, and their reactions to various types of stimulation, are worth study. Provided the right boundaries, and the appropriate protective measures, of course. This stimuli will double as rehabilitation for your shrunken bodies." She turned to the ceiling. "What really makes me happy - is seeing so many people joined together for a common 'love'. I'll do what I can to help that 'love' flourish... perhaps learn a little, myseeeelf~"

Laghari started to get up. "So, you'll shrink us?"

Anderson rubbed his hands. "I knew you were one of us."

Fran turned suddenly, lifting a stitched finger. "I'll operate. But. I have a condition. Namely, you'll live through this. Masochists though you may be... nothing I do will kill you, and I'll take all measures to keep you from dying. Life is sacred and beautiful, even if it's imperfect. No matter how large or small the person experiencing it."

Aliev facepalmed. "Aw, dammit."

Liu breathed in. "It's fine... This is the life we want..."

Okita, having listened passively for a while, finally spoke up. "Hey, I'll say this as a service... If it isn't critical surgery, you probably don't wanna go through with this." His tail bobbed about his head. "Fran's the best, but it'd be easier for you to visit a sexologist."

Veronica, having gotten herself together, nodded. "Yeah. Even I don't know how it'll turn out. Not like I care what happens to you freaks, but..."

The visitors sat tight, and discussed privately.
"Hmm, no going back..."
"The one with the boots. She's great."
"There's something oddly calming about how the doctor talks about it."
Slowly, one after another, they answered.

Habi clutched Bello. "A-anything, as long as it's with her."
She got a hug back. "We'll pull through, this is our ultimate fantasy."

Liu smiled. "Please give me your worst. I-I'll just ask you to go harder."

Laghari shrugged, defeated. "Look. Now that I'm here, you know. I want to have kids some day. I wanna travel with them. It just won't work for me. Good luck." Escorted out by a servant with mummy-esque wraps, he tossed a friendly wave to his companions.

Pedro got up. "There's no way I'll sit out... a chance to be with smelly feet. I'm finally gonna live my dream, aww yeah..."

Tessay just squirmed in place. "I've got nothing to lose. I'm a dirty bug inside. I'll crawl out of this mansion a dirty bug on the outside, too."

Aliev sighed. "This is not it. This is not what I imagined. If I can't get snuffed here, it's not worth it." They also were escorted out.

Anderson didn't move. "This is a test, a test of our resolve, isn't it? All great men stare at the abyss and feel small at one point. I look in, laugh, and get a boner." His jaw tensed. "Fuck me up, Doctor Fran."

And as such, there were six patients.