They shoveled forkfuls of the meal Koko had prepared into their mouths, the sound of chewing encompassing the table. Noah had cooked omelets before, but they always turned out too salty or had the consistency of wet clay. Koko’s food lacked any such flaws. Just as before, the maid waited, only daring to touch her own fork after a smile appeared on her temporary master's full face. 

On cue, the red phone rang as soon as Noah’s cutlery dropped onto the empty plate. Koko was already dragging her stool over to the sink in order to wash the dishes when he pressed the accept call button, bringing the device up to his ear. “Yes?” He began, clearing his dry throat—something he should have done sooner. 

“Noah! Good to hear you.” The unmistakable voice of H rang out on the other end. “I am assuming you have secured the device, correct?”

“Yeah, I have it right here.” He said, taking it out from his pocket as if H could see it.

“Good man!” The man let out a chuckle, with the sound of him shifting in a leather chair. “Drop by my place, okay? Let's get things sorted out, et cetera et cetera.” Once again, there was no need for Noah to ask for more information, with the man on the other end already knowing all that he didn’t know. “Listen, I am a little busy today, so I can’t give you the black cab treatment. How about you take a taxi? Koko has the address. I know the fares are expensive in the inner city, but you have a few thousand to spare now.”

Grabbing his other phone, he gestured for the two ‘mimis to follow, walking into the hallway just to be met with the familiar sight. It was Mike, a heavy green bag in his hand. The man was in the process of taking out the garbage, something Noah quickly worried about forgetting before immediately being reminded that Koko had already taken care of that for him.

“Hey!” The neighbor waved, glancing down at the ‘mimis by his side. When he found there to be one too many, his happy face turned to shock mixed with envy. “I see you’ve got a new friend.” He squatted down, staring at the passive face of Koko, waiting for her to blink to prove that she was not a doll.

Noah nodded, a wry smile playing on his lips. "She's a…temporary houseguest." He replied, deciding to keep the specifics of Koko's role a secret. Hell, even he barely knew what the maid/bodyguard/language teacher was here to do. For Mike's sake, it was best not to divulge too much—even if he had very little.

“How do you have ‘mimis swarming to you? Is it some pheromones or something?” He half-joked while reaching his hand to pet Koko. In a single motion, she reached to her side, the sound of something metallic clicking below her maid dress. 

“Koko, wait.” Noah ordered, watching her tense muscles relax. His neighbor continued petting the ‘mimi, unaware of how close he had come to being decommissioned. 

“Koko? That’s a cute name. Much cuter than Tanji. And look at that tail!” Mike was close to exploding as he ruffled his hand through the fox girl’s fluffy tail. Despite expecting her to break, Koko maintained her poker face—staring off into nothingness as the unprompted examination continued. She was neither in support of nor opposed to being treated this way. Her current master told her that this man posed no threat, so she was fine allowing him to do whatever. As long as it didn’t go against her actual owner’s code, of course. 

Tanji squinted at the display, mumbling “Bastard.” Somehow, it seemed directed at the both of them.

“I have to get going.” Noah rubbed his shoulder while his eyes darted towards the staircase. “Things to do.”

“Oh yeah, of course.” Mike stood up, giving Koko a break. “Any progress on finding Tanji’s owner.”

“No, nothing.” He instinctively spouted out, seeing the fox girl trying to correct her tail. 

“That's a shame. Looks like you’re going to have to deal with 2 ‘mimis for now.” A sly smile appeared on his face. “How about you give one over to me? Managing both must be a pain.”

“Actually, Koko is very well-behaved. She cleans after herself.” In truth, she did much more than that—cleaning up after both him and Tanji. “And no. I don’t think that would be the best idea.”

“Man, you’re hoarding all the good stuff.” He exhaled sharply. “Shame, but I can’t blame you.” Suddenly, his face turned serious. “Hey, Noah. You haven’t been in college for a while. Is everything alright?”

Noah froze. It hadn’t been that long, had it? No more than a week. Barely a gap, yet a gap nonetheless. “I mean, the summer is coming up. I just thought I would take an early holiday, you know?” 

“I see.” Mike nodded, turning to leave with the trash. “I wasn’t worried or anything. Mia just asked. I will tell her that you’re fine, then. Take care, dude.” One of the last remaining tethers to his old life disappeared down the staircase, leaving only the sound of the buzzing lights above. Inhaling deeply, Noah walked towards the doors, taking out his phone to call a taxi.

The ride went smoothly. Tanji took up a lot less space than Yulka, allowing the man to actually stretch his legs. His driver did occasionally glance back at him—seeing a college student with two ‘mimis by his side—but decided to keep quiet. For all he knew, he was just some kid using his daddy’s money to have a little fun in Namiport. Soon enough, their ride stopped in front of a skyscraper. It was made of dull black glass, having an almost menacing appearance as its true scale revealed itself with each step they made towards the building. 

They went inside, taking an elevator ride which felt unbearably long. Knocking on the door, the sound of something excitedly thrashing around inside was heard through the heavy wooden frame. When it was actually pulled open, Noah was denied the privilege of peering inside of H’s apartment by the dark silhouette of Yulka standing in the way—her wide body blocking the entrance like a wall of muscles and flesh; her amber eyes and wolf-like features looked as sharp as ever. And despite being a guest here, the man had a feeling that the bulky ‘mimi was ready to pounce at him at any moment, her heavy gaze etched into him even as he was finally allowed inside. 

H’s apartment was about what he had expected: lots of empty space, white walls decorated with abstract art, and a collection of tightly packed black leather couches that could likely accommodate an entire board of directors. He knew that his patron was waiting for him, but Noah couldn’t help but stare out of the window—taking a wide glance at the city. It looked a lot more appealing from the top, with all of its flaws fading away at a distance. 

“Doing some sightseeing?” H asked, walking up behind Noah. “Before all the pleasantries, how about we discuss business?”

Turning around, he reached into his pocket to retrieve the device. Taking it out seemed impossibly difficult, with Noah fidgeting with the pocket of his jeans for a good few seconds before finally producing it without much fanfare. Despite this, H’s eyes lit up—something that even his shaded glasses couldn’t hide. 

“Good man.” He peeled back one of the panels. After being pleased with whatever he had read, H handed it back to Noah as he walked over to the bar. 

The need to keep quiet and not ask questions once again crept into his mind. But this time, Noah managed to quickly vent it out, taking a confident step towards his patron as he tapped a cork against the tabletop. “Why was I sent to get it? Why was it important?” He deserved to know that much, if not more.

“Why was it important?” The blonde man repeated absentmindedly, currently in the middle of pouring rosé wine for the pair. “It’s important because you did what you were told—because you didn’t ask questions. That’s the kind of people I am looking for.”

Noah looked down. “So it was all pointless, then?”

“Pointless?” H scoffed, handing him a glass of the pinkish liquid. “No, not pointless. Necessary? Also no. But convenient—convenient for what we are trying to achieve.”

The wine swirled around in the cold glass. “Enlighten me. What’s the deal with the listening device?” 

“I am glad that our little rouse worked.” He closed his eyes, humming to himself. “It’s not a listening device. Not exactly. But we wanted people to think that it was. So when they found it, they would look for audio files and just find garbage. Anyone not in the know getting their hands on it wouldn’t have compromised our mission.”

“Are they encoded?”

“Bingo.” H opened his eyes, allowing his jaw to set. “They are encoded text files. When played as audios, they sound like a bunch of random noises. It would probably make whoever found it think that the microphone was busted or something.”

“Files? Files for what?”

H leaned in closer, his voice low and conspiratorial. “For the machine. It is the cipher we need to unlock it—to use it.”

Noah shook his head. “I don’t think I understand.”

“Well, would you like to see it for yourself?”

Looking down at his reflection in the glass, a determined face looked back at him. “Yes, I would.”

“Koko!” H snapped his fingers after taking a sip of the wine. “Please take Mr. Noah and Tanji to the laboratory. Thank you, dear.”

“You aren’t coming?”

“Can’t, I am afraid.” The man shook his head with a weak laugh. “Yulka gets incredibly lonely without me. Isn’t that right, girl!” H walked up to the giant wolf girl, allowing her to bow down before ruffling his hand through her silky black hair. Glancing back at the woman, Noah almost expected her to loll out her tongue or at least wag her tail happily. But no. Her annoyed face was steadfast, looking at him as if marking her territory over her owner. It was her will to ensure that Noah never received any more of her master’s attention—something he was perfectly fine with. 

Walking down a circular staircase, they soon found themselves inside a chilled room, one having a strong sterile smell. The walls were made of slick white high-grade plastic, with the dim room illuminated only by the blue glow of the computer screen. Electronics which Noah had no way of deciphering the purpose of decorated the walls, letting off a gentle hum of the many cooling fans. His nose scrunched at the scent of chlorine, with a deep pool resting in the center of the room. Many of the computers were connected to some unknown machines surrounding the reservoir through covered wires, giving the water a dim blue glow. Despite how makeshift it looked, the still water had a serene look to it. 

With the squeak of her chair, the woman behind the desk turned her tired eyes towards the new arrivals—dark bags hanging under them. She was wearing a white lab coat—one used as a status symbol rather than for any protection judging by how awkwardly it hung down her body. Her blonde hair was tied into a professional ponytail, with a pair of thin glasses across her bright green eyes. 

“You have the thing?” The doctor asked unprompted, standing up in front of him. No ears. No tail. It looked like H hired normal humans after all. “You must have. Hiro wouldn’t send you down here if you didn’t. Come on, take it out.”

Noah did as he was told, handing the device over to the woman. She plugged it into the side of her computer after circling through different wires for some time. The white bar appearing on the screen informed the both of them that something was happening—something that needed time. Swirling in her chair, the doctor now faced him, tapping her knees to keep her hands busy. 

“So…” She eventually spoke up, periodically glancing back at the screen—clearly never having heard that a watched pot never boils. “I am Dr. Galloway. You can call me Emily, I guess.” 

“Noah-” Before he could utter his surname, the doctor turned away, clearly having very little interest in it. He decided to stay quiet, keeping the hand he was about to extend into a handshake tucked by the side of his body. 

“This is taking a while so…I am going to assume you have some questions. Hiro likes to be cryptic. It’s part of the fun for him.”

He did have questions. So many questions, in fact, that deciding where to start felt like some conundrum. “What is all this?”

“I will give you the short version.” Emily exhaled, adjusting in her seat. “You know the current genetic modifications method available to EikōBio, GenoVista, KyotoSynth, and whoever else has their chips in the biotech business?”

“I have experience with them…” He glanced down at Tanji climbing up onto his shoulder. “…as a consumer.”

“They are impressive, yes. But I am looking for the next step. Nowadays, you are either genetically modified or not. Once your parents decide that they don’t want to throw in a full upgrade, that’s it. You better get used to living the rest of your life with diabetes or allergies—and those are the nice ones when compared to how many things can go wrong. No, what I am talking about is genetic modification on the fly: post-natal and full-body.”

Noah squinted in disbelief. “That’s possible?” Impressive technology seemed to leak from Japan each year, but this seemed like something out of a science fiction book. 

The doctor swirled back to the computer, seeing the bar edging at 90%. “It is now.” 

“You seem pretty passionate about this stuff.” Noah watched the screen even if he couldn’t understand a single command displayed on it. 

“That’s all thanks to Hiro.” A weak yet genuine smile appeared on her thin lips. “I used to patch up battered ‘mimis for EikōBio. Now? Now, I am making history.” The smile faded—just slightly. “The boss is still more interested in making better ‘mimis than actually working on human diseases, but I suppose I need to be patient. He already gave me a lot. The least I could do is make sure his business runs smoothly.”

“So this is an EikōBio operation?” He said, seeing the familiar red shape of a spider lilly decorating the equipment. 

“Technically, yes. I guess you could call us a cabal, but that’s a nasty word. We are on their payroll, but have our own motives.”

The man crossed his arms, feeling the weight of Tanji on his shoulder. “Why are you telling me all this?”

Her tone was much less serious than he had expected. “If you’re going into hell, you might as well come prepared.” With a blank face, the woman added. “Besides, do you honestly think that you are any threat to our operation?” Considering how quick Koko was to act, he decided to stay quiet, shaking his head.

The sound of the computer beeping in agreement made the woman glue her face back to the computer—her eyes a little too close to the bright screen. “And it’s done! Alright, tell Tanji to get naked.”

A look of shock appeared on both of their faces. “Why?” He forced out, looking at his cat companion already beginning to growl. 

She looked up at him as if that were a stupid question. “We’re going to modify her, of course! We will start with fixing the leg…and would you like her breasts to be larger? Maybe make her waist a bit thinner…pink hair could also be cute.” The cat girl scoffed at the suggestions, especially the one relating to pink hair—the memory of Maya still fresh in her mind. 

“Just the leg, please.” He muttered out, trying to keep Tanji from breaking anything. It still felt weird, talking about modifying a living creature as if he were ordering from a drive-through. 

Was transformation supposed to be witnessed? Emily was more interested in the graphs on her display, and Koko had the habit of looking into the great nothingness whenever given the choice. He was the only one amongst the group who actually kept his eye on the pool as Tanji awkwardly lowered herself, squirming and thrashing in the cold water as if it were acid burning her skin. This seemed to be just an effect of her genetics since the water that she splashed on Koko and himself was just that—plain H2O. 

The glow of the water seemed to transfer itself into her skin, particularly in the area around the stump. It was a lot less gross than he had anticipated, with the stump simply extending into a fully built leg as if created by an invisible 3d printer. The motion quickly returned to Tanji, with the parts not overpowered by the glow thrashing with the rest of her body until the synthesized toes wiggled anxiously. 

Tanji managed to crawl onto the land, her black prosthetic now sitting at the bottom of the pool—its dark silhouette casting a shadow against the white tiles. She was shaking, still having this look of terror on her face. Despite it having fixed her missing limb, she cursed the vile water, running up to Noah and using his trousers to wipe herself down before Koko provided the woman with a towel. 

“Alright, you are next.”

Noah slowly turned around, his mouth twitching at the doctor who was already typing something. “Me?”

“The next task requires you to take the form of ‘mimi. So…strip.” She didn’t even bother to look at him, tapping away as the clack-clack-clack of the mechanical keyboard filled the room. 

The glow of the transformation pool beckoned him, painting his face azure. There was a lot that he was willing to do for his patron, but this? It seemed excessive—humiliating.  “No. I am not going in there.” He made his objection professional and direct. At least he hoped it came off as that. 

“Suit yourself.” The doctor grumbled to herself while closing the tabs. “But remember, you have to play the game if you want to make it big. I played the game and looked where it got me.” She smirked, outstretching her arm as if trying to grasp the entire room. All the equipment here was hers to use and test and modify however she saw fit. 

Could he have a place to call his own? He had the stocks, sure, but they were nothing compared to all the assets this little clique had. This is what this was all about: making his life comfortable. Noah looked down at Tanji, watching as she struggled trying to reach her new toes—her plump body getting in the way. “I will think about it.”

Emily smiled at the prospect of finally being able to try the pool out on a human body. “That’s all Hiro wants.”